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TanglePatterns needs your financial support

By Linda Farmer, CZT ~ November 1st, 2015

Open letter to all Zentangle® artists from an enthusiastic tangler, Lee Ann Elliott

Zentangle is fun. I enjoy seeing what my pen might do and am often surprised at the result. I know others feel the same way. Many of us have more fun because we get Linda Farmer’s newsletter – like the one you are reading, and many tangles to spur our imagination.

It is hard to believe that the newsletter, plus all the strings and tangles, plus all the help in drawing them, plus tutorials, plus comments, plus announcements, plus publications, are all produced by Linda. These are wonderful resources for the Zentangle artist. I doubt that artists who use other art forms or mediums have this much practical and useful information available to them.

Unfortunately, many of us missed the point that Linda pays for this herself. She modestly asks for contributions once a year each November and the results have been underwhelming. At this rate it would not be surprising if she had to discontinue or severely limit this gift to us.

Let’s do our share, show our appreciation, and keep this wonderful resource coming. It doesn’t take just large contributions, although welcome, but it does take many contributions. It is easy. PayPal is explained in this issue.

Please contribute.

Along with my contribution, Linda, I send you my thanks and appreciation for increasing the enjoyment, as well as the improvement, of the art I produce.

Lee Ann Elliott – an enthusiastic tangler

Thank you so much for your kind words and your passionate support, Lee Ann.

It’s true. TanglePatterns needs your annual financial support to survive. I repeat this because I can’t overstate the reality and its importance.

I invest all of my time and energy to help you and your art through the work I do 24/7 on TanglePatterns. Now I’m asking you to invest a financial contribution to ensure the site and my work can continue.

Just once a year at the beginning of November, I ask for help from all of the site’s users. It’s not something I relish doing and I only do it once a year. But it’s absolutely necessary because the operating costs to keep the site going are significant, they escalate each year and this is the time of year the big bills come due on top of all the regular monthly ones.

I suspect very few of you realize the measures that have to be taken continually to keep the site functional and working seamlessly. And secure pages delivered promptly regardless of where you are in the world. This is above and beyond everything that goes into providing the content you enjoy, which is a big job in itself. I’ve written at length in the past about what it takes to keep things going (here, for example) so I’m not going to rehash again.

More and more people use the site every day and many email me for help or advice with one thing or another. Unfortunately, rarely do they think to support the site financially. The sale of eBook guides and Zentangle supplies and running ads only helps offset a fraction of what it takes to sustain and grow the site. It’s so easy to buy a new Zentangle book or several, and I like books as much as anyone. But please remember what TanglePatterns means to you, it can’t run without funding from everyone who makes use of its resources and inspiration.

I need YOUR financial help to survive and to grow. Quoting Lee Ann, “It doesn’t take just large contributions, although welcome, but it does take many contributions.”

Please contribute using this PayPal button to help TanglePatterns and ensure its existence for the upcoming year. Whatever the amount, each contribution helps and is deeply appreciated.

The SUPPORT TANGLEPATTERNS page on the top menu bar has my mailing address if you prefer to mail a check or money order. It also contains this PayPal button so you can support the site any time you can.

You do not have to open an account to use PayPal: after you click the button above and update your cart, scroll down to the bottom of the PayPal page and look for the “Don’t have a PayPal account” section. All credit and debit cards are accepted.

From the bottom of my heart, thanks so much for your support. And for your time!

55 comments to TanglePatterns needs your financial support

Thank you so very much for all the work you put into this site so we can keep learning this wonderful meditative art form. I’ve been blessed to be able to attend the 23 CZT seminar in April 2016. Thank you for the inspiration.

Lee Ann, thank you for your letter on Linda’s behalf. I have always thought that Linda Farmer has done more to help and encourage Zentangle followers than anyone else on the planet. This website and all the work she puts into it are the best resource of all. You would think she has a staff! This unselfish lady is a true hero, and I hope many of her devoted readers will send generous contributions. Linda, thanks for everything!

Thank you, Linda, for all that you do. It’s amazing to me that one person can do it all. I have many Zentangle books on my desk but I still bring up TanglePatterns.com to find a quick pattern. This site is a wonderful resource & I use it daily. I am more than happy to make a donation today.

I use this site all the time and truly appreciate all the hard work that goes into it. Thank you for this fantastic resource! Can’t wait for the 2016 patterns book to come out! My contribution is on the way.

Lee Ann – thank you for writing on behalf of Linda’s hard work for all of us. This donation is always at the top of my November “things to do list”. Linda provides such a service for those CZT artists who have training, for those who are just beginning and for all the artists in between. Her annual reference e-book is a great resource. If you haven’t made a donation in the past, please consider making one now (whatever amount you choose). Linda’s hard work deserves not only our praise, but also our encouragement $$$ to keep up the outstanding work on our behalf. This is truly an international family, so let’s support one of our own! Thank you Linda for your dedication. It is always a pleasure to receive a new email from you and to see the art work accomplished worldwide. Without you and Tangle Patterns, this would not be possible. My annual contribution is on its way.

Linda, I have just made a small contribution to your financial fund. I thank you very much indeed for all the work you do and expenses you pay to keep the site running. I have been using it a LOT since June, and so am glad to contribute a bit to help it out. You promote Zentangle tirelessly and effectively and I know you put an incredible number of hours into running and maintaining the site. So thanks again, and I hope my little bit helps!

I subscribed earlier this year so did not know about the enormous costs and energy it takes to run and maintain Tanglepatterns. I’m more than happy to support you! A check will go out tomorrow. Thank you!

You are awesome Linda, Thanks so much for your love, passion and dedication for this web site- You have touched, moved and inspired so many people!! This site reassures us that Zentangle is a true art form. I hope all of us get recognized as ARTISTS. Because we are!!

Thank you, Linda, for all you do for the tangling community worldwide. I have a link to this site on my blog and often refer people here. There’s so much “free” on the Internet that it is easy to forget that sometimes there is a hidden cost which we know nothing about, and also we are quite unaware of the amount of work it must take, to maintain such a site as this. So thank you very much for all your hard work! I have just sent you a contribution.

I have a suggestion for everyone ! We all love Linda and the work she constantly does for us ALL on this site. I know everyone (like me) enjoys a cup of coffee now and then when out shopping etc. Can you do without buying 1 cup of coffee per month ? Instead of sending a yearly large amount, why not divide it up into a regular monthly amount.(the option is available on the payment page). Even if living is “tight” financially, as it is for some of us (like me)I am sure we can ALL afford the cost of a cup of coffee each month, which in my case works out to something I could never afford, if I had to give it all at once (much I would like to!) so I have chosen to have an amount deducted monthly from my Paypal account, painless for me, great for Linda!

Thanks for your thoughtful suggestion, Sue. If I might add, just be sure to make a note of your monthly transaction so when it turns up you will remember what it’s for and not think it’s some phantom unauthorized charge. (Voice of experience.) Hugs!!

Linda
thank you so much. people see me Tangling all the time and I give them your site address, so come on all you Aussie Tanglers this site is such a great resource and inspirational site for us all, please donate and help us keep it going. my regards and thanks Sara the mad Ferguson Valley Tangler

Hi Linda
I am new to Zentangle this year…. absolutely love it and your inspirational site. I first learnt about Zentangle at an art class I attend to help women who are recovering from breast cancer in Brisbane, Qld, Australia. We do all sorts of creative expression at the class and zentangle was very popular. I found your site while trying to find out more about zentangle. I really look forward to receiving you daily tangle patterns. I have just made a donation.
Love your work!!

Your dedication to this website is a blessing to anyone who supports the arts. I can’t draw an accurate stick figure but I can Zentangle, thanks to your detailed, interesting, educational website. Your website not only teaches Zentanglej, but history, geography, and anthropology. The world wide audience of Zentangle has opened up the world to me. I look forward to being introduced to something new in every email you send. While I will offer my financial support, I can never truly repay you for all you have given me!

For me, Tangling is my sanity, and the Tangling Community is like group therapy. I never miss a session of TanglePatterns.com! So thank you “Dr. Linda”;) for your hard work in maintaining this valuable website, and providing us with worldwide inspiration! Much love to you!

I love all the timeless advice, tips and patterns. A literal treasure trove of information found no where else I figure that if I bought a book for $25-30 it would be a minimal amount to what is found here. So people, step up and think of it as in investment in yourself as a artist and an artistic gesture to keep beautiful things coming for all of us. Thanks Linda for your time, energy, interest, and talented gifts.

I also appreciate you and this site–IMMENSELY. And I want to say I appreciate the reminder. I will donate tonight when I get off work. I am proud to support something like this…Zentangle has enriched my life more than words, and you and Tanglepatterns.com is a huge part of that.

Thank you for putting on this reminder. I have sent my contribution and appreciated your acknowledgement. Rather than email you back I thought it better to put my comment here. I can’t thank you enough for all the time and effort you put into this site. Not only do you allow us to have a continuous flow of new tangles to enjoy, you have also created a wonderful community of people throughout the world. I don’t have a blog or anything like that but enjoy looking at those that do. The way you link us all together is a beautiful thing. My personal goal is to spread moments of joy through my yoga teaching and the messages on the cards I make for family and friends which now often includes some tangling amongst my calligraphy. I think that YOU spread JOY everytime you send us something – so I urge anyone else out there who hasn’t sent in some support to do so ASAP.

Lee Ann, what a wonderful letter to get us all moving to help Linda keep TanglePatterns going.. And everyone else who has posted here is helping to move things along too. It’s like Public Radio and their pledge drives! 😀 If we use something and it’s important to us, we should help out somehow, even if it seems like a small amount. A little bit from everyone can be a huge help.

Thank you, Linda, for all you do to keep this going. I don’t know what I would do without it. It has been a great inspiration to me. And I also tell people about this site. Thank you again. I have also just sent my donation.

Very much appreciating the helpful advice and ideas from your site Linda – I also did not realise it was a yearly request but it is now on my calendar and will “pop up” as a reminder each year!
Donation on its way via pay pal.

I’ve sent my contribution yesterday and already received a lovely thank you email which made me smile all over my face. BUT it is me/us who have to say thank you Linda for all the work and love you put into TanglePatterns!

I love to visit this site and it helped me A LOT while I was new to the amazing Zentangle world and it still does. There’s so much to explore, to learn, to develop and it always amazed me that there are still new patterns and ideas and stories to share.

Linda, I took a Zentangle class this summer and learned about your website then. I am astonished that one person can do so much. You are so well -rounded in your knowledge and interests, and so generous to share so much time and talent with us.
You have contributed much to my quality of life by helping a “non-artistic” person feel creative. So happy to send some assistance your way!
Much gratitude and love from us all,
Mary-Jane

Linda, thank you sooooooooo much for all your hard work in keeping up this fabulous website!!! Your site is ALWAYS a definite referral that I give to everyone I come in contact with, inquiring about Zentangle. (And of course the official Zentangle website:0) too! )
I also want to thank you for choosing my new tangle L zen 7’s. I have been sick and just had a root canal so haven’t really been on line. Well, How excited was I, when I saw that my tangle was chosen. Having a tangle on your website is so incredibly exciting. The amount of traffic that my blog gets from your website, is amazing. It is proof that the world uses your site!!
I would like to make a monthly donation as a bit of gratitude to all that you supply the Zentangle community with.
Many, many thanks to ‘YOU’ and TANGLEPATTERNS !!!

Considering how often I consult TanglePatterns and how often I tell others to “help themselves” I cannot NOT make a contribution. Linda, thank you for all your hard work which is greatly appreciated. I do not think I am exaggerating when I say on behalf of the majority of dedicated tanglers: we love this site, we need it, we could not do without it! 🙂

Thanks Linda for providing a daily dose of Zentangle goodness. Your hard work is much appreciated. TanglePatterns.com is a complete reference for any tangler, novice or advanced. I use this all the time for ideas, techniques and sometimes just for an eye candy fix.

Thank you for this site…I wish I could do more as this has really helped me grow in my tangling and also to seek an instructor to learn more.
Will continue to be supportive when I can…Hugs and blessings to Linda for her efforts here!!!

I’ve seen a number of people post comments about how little their donation is in proportion to the amount of effort Linda puts into this sit, and I certainly have to put myself in that group. I am very new to tangling, having only been attempting it for the last two months, but I find myself on this site almost every day I have the computer on. Still, I am retired and on an extremely restricted income. Therefore, I chose Paypal’s option to make a small monthly donation to this site rather than an only slightly larger one-time donation. I suggest that many others might follow this course and considerably raise Linda’s operating revenue for Tanglepatterns.com.

Dear Linda,
Thank you very much for all your hard work. I sometimes wonder: how does she manage to keep all of this so nicely updated…..
I will do the necessary with Paypall for a donation. Needless to day that it is normal that people get paid when they offer a service. You should not be doing this completely for free. I would be more than happy to pay a yearly contribution. Thank you again for all your effort. Warm regards, Karin

Another rookie to Zentangles would like to thank you for your work. Many thanks for bringing new tangles and strings to all of us. I really enjoy your site so much, and have recommended it to other people.

Lee Ann, thank you for your “open letter”. Linda, I missed your November appeal – I was just starting at that time. Your site is my most valuable resource for learning Zentangle. It’s clearly an enormous amount of work, and it is so well done. Thank you, and we all need to support you.

TanglePatterns depends on support from its users to remain online. If you find value in this unique Zentangle® resource, please help make sure it continues to be available.
Your support really matters and you have my deepest gratitude for your help. xo